Often called the “microstate with a macro vision”, San Marino is slowly accelerating toward building a startup ecosystem. The country is located in Southern Europe and is starting to get support from venture capital firms as well as angel investors.

However, to pick which investor suits your startup and matches your business interests, we have filtered out the list of the top 7 startup investors in San Marino.

So, without further delay, let’s get started.

Top 7 Startup Investors in San Marino

Following is the list of some of the top startup investors in San Marino. While these investors are actively participating in funding rounds and helping founders get things started, it’s important to understand that San Marino is still going through a growth phase and it can be difficult to secure big funding.

Onto the list of investors!

SM Capital

SM Capital is a venture capital investment firm based in San Marino. The firm seeks to invest in industrial and fintech sectors and usually funds early-stage companies. 

Similarly, the investors at SM Capital are fully passionate about searching for founders who have unique ideas and can lead a business toward success. Plus, these investors,

The investment range of SM Capital is around  €500,000.

Mastercard

Mastercard is an American multinational payment card services corporation headquartered in New York. It offers a range of payment transaction processing and other related payment services and also invests in San Marino businesses.

Although it doesn't act like a VC firm, the network makes private investments in San Marino through startup fundraisers. Investors from Mastercard attend different events in San Marino and invest in businesses that have the highest growth potential.

Similarly, The Fund invests in African-owned and African-led Fund Managers, including Female-led fund managers, first-time fund managers, private equity funds, venture capital funds, debt funds, and permanent capital vehicles.

The investment range of Mastercard is between  €50,000 to  €4M.

Federico Ghizzoni

Federico Ghizzoni is an angel investor who has been funding startups since at least 2018. A little about his background, Ghizzoni has a distinguished career in the banking industry, spanning more than 30 years. He served as the CEO of Italian bank UniCredit from 2010 to 2016.

When making investments, Ghizzoni prefers businesses that are revolutionizing the fintech industry and are led by individuals who are well-experienced. Even though he makes early-stage investments Federico Ghazzani takes his time understanding the business model and then makes investments.

The investment range of Federico Ghizzoni is around  €150,000. 

PayU GPO

PayU GPO is also one of the notable VCs that make investments in San Marino. It acts as a payments and fintech business provider to both enterprise and SMB segments in emerging markets. Plus, the firm has made investments in seventeen different companies across payments, credit, digital assets, and other areas of fintech.

Talking about their investments, PayU GPO is a recent investor in San Marino and they are becoming more active in the startup ecosystem with each day. The firm has a network of investors who are focused on long-term investments that allow them to build meaningful relationships, nurture the growth of both businesses as well as their founders, and support solutions.

The investment range of PayU GPO is around  €350,000 for startups based in San Marino. 

CRIF

CRIF is a global company specializing in credit and business information systems, analytics, outsourcing and processing services, and advanced digital solutions. Despite being an Italian VC firm, the investors have expanded their network and made investments in many other countries including San Marino.

Discussing the investment activities, the investors focus on funding startups that can be profitable and are at the early/seed stage. They do not organize any pitching competition but participate in funding rounds or invite startup leaders for meetings and invest accordingly.

The investment range of CRIF is between  €500,000 to  €6M.

Azimut Digitech Fund 

Azimut Digitech Fund is a recently founded Italian VC fund that makes investments in San Marino. Ever since its inception, the fund has been super-focused on funding the most unique startups and has gathered around 30 investors within 4 years.

Moreover, Azimut Digitech Fund is more focused on tech-related startups as investors value uniqueness. They are actively investing in startups that have little competition and have strong plans that predict success.

Once a startup has been funded, the VC firm also has a mentorship panel to help the portfolio companies. However, they aren't hosting any physical mentorship or networking events in San Marino. The investment range of Azimut Digitech Fund is around  €3M.

Abalone Group

Abalone Group is an international financial hub that was founded by Roberto Colapinto. The group is based in Saint Moritz, Graubunden, Switzerland. It specializes in individual and collective management services, cutting-edge financial engineering, planning, and investment solutions. Plus, they also have a network of over 35 professionals with twenty years of experience in the main international investment banks. 

When funding startups, the group takes a focused approach and only invests in startups that are in the growth stages. They believe in making more high-end investments that won't just benefit the firm but also help in expanding the startup's presence, increasing the ROI.

The investment range of Abalone Group isn't mentioned online. However, they usually invest around  €5-10M.

How To Make Your Startup Investable?

When preparing to appear in your first investor meeting, it is quite a challenge to understand the pain points and all the important stuff that needs to be explained.

However, in our language, we call it “The Checklist of Making a Business Investable and Seem Profitable”

Appearing in a presentation without any clue about what your startup can achieve and why the investors should fund is the worst of ideas. Here are some important points on what checklist you should follow to make your business look investable. 

1. Have Clear and Attainable Business Goals 

2. Show Your Startup Has Made Traction

3. Demonstrate the Market Fit for Your Product Through Market Research

4. Build Your Team

5. Present a Strong Sales Pipeline 

6. Define Startup Fundraising Goals

7. Show Momentum Projections

8. Come Up with a List of Investor's Possible Objections

9. Network to Soft Sell Your Startup Idea

10. Create a Compelling Narrative to Tell Your Story

11. Build a Persuasive Pitch Deck

12. Build Social Proof 

13. Include a Cap Table

14. Take Care of Copyright and Legal Issues

15. Offer Incentives Beyond Equity

Wrap-Up:

So, we are finally done with the list of top startup investors in San Marino and have also discussed some important points. 

However, before the discussion concludes, there’s one important thing every entrepreneur should emphasize and that’s research. Whenever pitching to angel investors or VC firms, always spend some hours researching and understanding the mindset of your targetted investors. This greatly helps you in securing the investment.

Frequently Asked Questions